Mitch Tonks, a seafood chef and restaurateur, witnessed a significant transformation in his business model at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Faced with the challenges of empty fish markets and plummeting sales, Tonks received a call from Nick, a local fishing boat skipper, who was struggling to sell his catch. In response, Tonks reached out to his customer network, prompting about 150 people to line up the following morning at Brixham, England's largest fish market by value, to purchase fresh fish directly from the boat. "That was my lightbulb moment," Tonks stated, highlighting the inefficiencies within the seafood retail industry that often led to waste and the closure of supermarket fish counters.

Tonks had fortuitously established a dedicated site at Brixham a year prior, enabling him to supply fish directly from local boats to his restaurant chain, Rockfish. The pandemic acted as a catalyst for change, with consumers increasingly turning to home delivery options. His company now runs an online seafood market that services 12,000 homes, allowing customers to access fresh fish directly from the quayside.

This shift was not limited to Tonks. Mike Warner, a seafood consultant based in Suffolk, faced a similar predicament when pandemic-related closures halted his operations. He quickly adapted by collaborating with local fishermen from Felixstowe to transport their catch directly to independent fishmongers in London. “I’d arrive at Rex Goldsmith, the Chelsea fishmonger... with a load of bass or lobster at 9am. There’d be queues of people, all socially distanced, waiting for us,” Warner recounted. After the markets reopened, he opted to focus on local restaurants and opened his fishmongers in Woodbridge, although he has recently announced plans to close the shop as online sales and consultancy demands have increased.

Warner also noted a broader trend toward online retail during the pandemic. He remarked that fish-box schemes proved successful, enabling suppliers like the Wright Brothers and the Wild Meat Company to pivot away from wholesale while improving profit margins despite a drop in overall turnover. The introduction of electronic auction systems at fish markets, such as in Newlyn, Cornwall, and Brixham, has further enhanced competitive pricing by reaching a wider range of buyers.

Jeremy Grieve, CEO of the Fish Society, experienced a massive surge in demand when Covid restrictions were implemented. He explained that on 23 March 2020, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged citizens to stay home, the company saw turnover leap by 400%. “We went seven days a week, 24 hours a day for an extended period,” Grieve said, as the team expanded from eight to 30 employees, with projected turnovers for this year anticipated to be 700% higher than in the year before the pandemic.

The Fish Society adapted its offerings by selling frozen fish, allowing for reduced waste and the provision of fish to various sectors, including ingredient suppliers for recipe boxes and cruise ships. Sustainable practices have also gained traction within the industry; companies like the Fish Society have switched to cardboard packaging, while Rockfish employs recycled ocean plastic containers, which can be returned for credit towards future purchases.

Seth McCurry, the UK and Ireland senior commercial manager for the Marine Stewardship Council, noted the pandemic's "seismic" effect on food consumption habits, indicating there would be a rising number of people in the UK using food subscription boxes this year. He remarked that e-commerce has opened unique opportunities for the seafood industry to reach consumers, particularly as major retailers have permanently closed their fish counters since the pandemic.

Tonks is now trialling a virtual fish counter at Gloucester motorway services on the M5, which he plans to roll out to his Rockfish restaurants across the south-west. He stated, "To have sustainable fisheries for the future, not only do we have to change practices on the water, we also have to change practices on land."